Tierney family name history and map
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Tierney in 1911 Ireland
The 1911 Census recorded 3,126 people named Tierney in Ireland, about 0.071% of everyone living in the country at the time and the 281st most common surname overall. The name was split fairly evenly between men and women: 1,607 men and 1,514 women. (A small number, 5, had no sex recorded.)
Counties with Tierney in Ireland
Galway had the largest share of Tierneys, 14.9% (466 people). Next came Dublin (408), Tipperary (382), Cavan (252) and Clare (207).

Tierney average age in 1911
The average Tierney in 1911 was 30.8 years old, 30.0 for men and 31.7 for women; almost exactly in line with the national averages of 29.6 for men and 30.5 for women. That low figure reflects just how many children there were in Edwardian Ireland, along with high infant mortality and the limits of public health at the time. For comparison, average life expectancy in Ireland today is around 83.
Tierney literacy in 1911
Of the Tierneys whose literacy was recorded, 75.9% could both read and write, 4% could read but not write, and 20.1% could do neither. The figures were much the same for men and women. Bear in mind these figures include young children; the census itself only counted people aged nine and over when calculating illiteracy, on the grounds that it was unfair to label a child illiterate before they'd had a chance to learn.
Tierney common first names
The most common male names were John (259), Patrick, Michael, James and Thomas; the same five names that topped the list nationally. For women it was Mary (286), followed by Bridget, Margaret, Ellen and Catherine.
Tierney occupations in 1911
The most common entry on a Tierney's census form was "Scholar"; 19% (595) were children at school. Among the rest, the most common occupations were farmer (17.5%), general labourer (5%), farm labourer (4.1%) and domestic servant (2.8%). Grouped by sector, agriculture accounted for 22.3% of all Tierneys, followed by general labourers, domestic service and textiles & clothing.
What religion is Tierney?
Tierneys were overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, 97.8% of them. The remainder were mostly Anglican (0.7%) and Methodist (0.3%).

Visitor Notes
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Added by
Pete F
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Tierney statistics (1911)
Number: 3,126
Rank: 281
Average Age: 31
Tierney in the USA (2020)
Number: 13,238
Rank: 2,656
Note: If there were less than 100 in the USA census it will show as zero.